Sweet Austria: Traditional Desserts & Pastries
Verlag Perlen-Reihe
Contents Strudels 7 Apple Strudel 9 Sour-Cream Strudel 11 Quark Strudel 14 Soufflés and Baked Puddings Baked Rice Pudding 19 Salzburger Nockerln 20 Bread Pudding 23 “Drunken Capuchins” 24 Sweet Semolina Cakes 27
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Yeast Pastries 28 Jam-Filled Yeast Buns 30 Sweet Yeast Dumplings with Poppy Seeds 33 Czech Plum Crumpets 35 Plum Squares with Streusel Topping 36 Plaited Yeast Loaf 39 Austrian Easter Bread 40 Turnovers, Noodles and Dumplings 42 Quark Dumplings with Stewed Plums 43 Apricot Dumplings 46 Poppy Seed Noodles 48 Plum Turnovers 51 Crêpes and “Schmarren” 52 Crêpes with Quark Filling 53 Kaiserschmarrn 56
Fried Pastries 58 Carnival Doughnuts 59 Austrian Farmer’s Doughnuts 63 Pastry Pockets, Viennese Style 64 Locksmith’s Apprentices 67 Styrian Funnel Cakes 68 Poor Knights 71 Tortes, Cakes and Biscuits 72 Sacher Torte 75 Esterházy Torte 77 Linzer Torte 80 Marbled Gugelhupf 83 Apricot Swiss Roll 84 Carinthian “Reindling” Cake 87 Poppy Seed “Tents” 88 Bad Ischl Cookies 91 Vanilla Crescents 92 Notes on Ingredients 94 Conversions of Weights and Measures 95
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Austria and the strudel – a grand love story. The question of who actually created this delicacy is the subject of passionate discussions. Although the Austrians are naturally convinced that this flaky pastry could only be an Alpine invention, one can also find strudel in old cookbooks under the name “Spanish dough”. But one thing is certain: whether it is hearty or sweet, whether it is served as a soup garnish, a main dish or a dessert, in no other country can one find such wonderful and surprising strudel variations. In Styria, the strudel even serves as a guarantee of marriageability: in this part of Austria, women are said to be allowed to wed only when they are able to make strudel dough without holes.
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Difficulty level:
Preparation time: 90 minutes NN Apple Strudel Apfelstrudel
For 2 strudels, about 10 servings Strudel dough 250g flour 1–2 tablespoons oil A pinch of salt 125ml water Flour for the work surface Melted butter and a beaten egg yolk, for brushing the dough Sautéed breadcrumbs: see p. 10
On your floured work surface, mound up the dough ingredients and knead them together to make a smooth dough. Shape the dough into a ball. Sprinkle a soup plate with oil, place the dough ball on the plate, drizzle with oil, cover and leave to rest – preferably overnight in the refrigerator. To continue, place a floured tea towel on a table and roll out the dough on the towel to make a rectangle. With the floured back of one hand, reach under the dough; with the other floured hand, stretch the dough from the centre toward the edge of the table until you have a paperthin rectangle.
3 Tip
The dough should be thin enough that you could read a newspaper through it. Keep stretching the dough until you are ready to fill it to prevent it from contracting. You can also use ready-made strudel dough, of course. 9
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Delights from the oven: heavenly soufflé variations! It is not only the incredible array of strudel variations that is omnipresent in Austria: soufflés ranging from “Scheiterhaufen” to “ Reisauflauf” are also a staple on every menu in every corner of this country. This delicacy, baked in oven-proof moulds and often consisting of several layers, can serve as a main dish as well as a sweet dessert – and soufflés are also the perfect dish for using up leftovers.
Legend has it that Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau, Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg from 1587 to 1612, was fond of high-class food but middleclass women. However, his long-time mistress, Salome Alt, spoiled him so with simple homebaked sweets like Salzburger Nockerln that he was unable to part with either. And the rest is history: Salome Alt made sure that the archbishop was well fed, and in return he gave her Mirabell Palace and 15 illegitimate children.
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The “Scheiterhaufen” is one of Vienna’s many sweet soufflés. In the south-western part of Germany, a similar form of this dish is known as “Ofenschlupfer”, literally “slipping into the oven”.
Difficulty level:
Preparation time: 45 minutes N Bread Pudding Scheiterhaufen For 8 to 10 servings
Preheat the oven to 180ËšC. Grease a shallow oven-proof Dough baking dish. 6 bread rolls Cut the bread rolls into thin (or brioche rolls) slices and place in a large bowl. 4 eggs Beat eggs together with milk, 200ml milk sugar and vanilla sugar. Pour 50g granulated sugar mixture over the sliced bread 11/2 tablespoons rolls, stir in the raisins and vanilla sugar melted butter, and leave to rest 50g raisins for 30 minutes. 75g butter, melted For the filling, peel and core the apples, cut into thin slices, Apple filling and combine with the sugar, 500g apples cinnamon, rum and slivered 50g granulated sugar almonds. Spoon enough of A pinch of ground the bread mixture into the cinnamon greased baking dish to cover 11/2 tablespoons rum the bottom and spread a layer 50g slivered almonds of the apple mixture over the top. Repeat this procedure until Meringue the bread mixture and apples 4 egg whites have been used up, finishing 120g granulated sugar with a layer of the bread mixture. Bake in the preheated oven for about 40 minutes. Beat the egg whites, gradually adding the granulated sugar, until a creamy consistency has been attained. Remove the pudding from the oven and increase the temperature to 250ËšC. Spread the meringue over the pudding and brown in the very hot oven for 10 minutes. 23
“ Riebel” is a classic dish of the province of Vorarlberg and is enjoyed for breakfast as well as for lunch and dinner. If it is served with milk or coffee poured over the top, it becomes a “Stopfer”. In former times the “ Riebel” was often cooked a day ahead and not fried until the following day.
Difficulty level:
Preparation time: 45 minutes N Sweet Semolina Cakes Riebel
For 8 servings 400ml water 400ml milk 2 pinches of salt 200g semolina 200g white cornmeal 100g clarified butter 60g butter Sugar, for sprinkling
Bring the water, milk and salt to the boil and gradually add the semolina and cornmeal, stirring constantly. Allow the cooked semolina and cornmeal to cool for an hour. Then heat the clarified butter and fry the mixture in the fat, chopping into small pieces and turning frequently. Stir in butter to finish. The “Riebel� is done when it has a yellow-gold colour and is crumbly. Serve sprinkled with sugar as desired.
Our recommendation Applesauce is a favourite accompaniment to this dish, as is apple, blueberry or elderberry compote.
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Leaven: the secret of the perfect yeast dough Many Austrian desserts, from “Buchteln” to “ Powidltascherl”, are based on a classic yeast dough. To obtain a particularly smooth and lustrous yeast dough, start by making a leaven or starter dough. This is how it works: Ingredients Yeast according to recipe 80g flour, sifted 3 tablespoons milk
Place sifted flour in a bowl or mound it up on your work surface and make a hollow in the centre. Heat the milk to about 20째C, crumble the yeast into the milk and stir to dissolve it. Carefully pour the milk-yeast mixture into the depression in the flour. Gradually push flour from the edge into the liquid and stir carefully until you have a soft dough. Sprinkle the dough with a bit of flour, cover with a cloth and leave to rest in a warm place for 30 minutes. When large cracks appear in the flour covering and the dough has doubled in size, the leaven has risen sufficiently.
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The name “Dalken” can be traced back to the Czech word “vlodky”, meaning “small hollow”, referring to the special “Dalken” pans characterized by seven depressions. In Bavaria and some regions of Austria these cakes are also known as “Liwanzen”, “Liwanzln” or “ Riwanzerln”, after the Czech word “lívance”, meaning crumpet or pancake.
Difficulty level:
Preparation time: 35 minutes NN Czech Plum Crumpets Dalken
For 6 servings Leaven: see p. 28. Prepare with 40g fresh yeast (or 14g dry yeast) Dough 500ml milk 600g flour 100g butter 3 eggs 2 tablespoons sugar A bit of grated rind from an untreated lemon Filling 300g plum jam, mixed with 2 tablespoons plum brandy
Knead the leaven together with the remaining dough ingredients to make a supple yeast dough. From the yeast dough, roll out rounds approx. 8cm in diameter and 1cm thick and fry in butter or oil in a small crêpe pan until golden brown. Spread a quarter of the crumpets with the plum jam/brandy mixture. Spread another quarter with a cream made of the puréed quark, egg yolks, lemon juice and sugar. Place an unspread crumpet on top of each spread one and dust with icing or cinnamon sugar.
300g quark, 20% fat, puréed 3 egg yolks Dash of lemon juice 1 tablespoon sugar Butter or oil, for frying Icing or cinnamon sugar, for dusting 35
Difficulty level:
Preparation time: 90 minutes NN Plum Squares with Streusel Topping Zwetschkenfleck For 20 servings Leaven: see p. 28. Prepare with 20g fresh yeast (or 7g dry yeast) Dough 40g butter 40g icing sugar 125ml milk 2 egg yolks 1 whole egg A pinch of salt 1 tablespoon vanilla sugar Grated rind of 1/2 untreated lemon 250g plain flour 11/2kg plums Streusel topping 80g flour 50g butter 50g granulated sugar Pinch of cinnamon Butter, for greasing the baking sheet Cinnamon & icing sugar, for sprinkling 36
Preheat the oven to 180ËšC. Grease a baking sheet. Melt the butter and add all ingredients except the flour. Then knead all the ingredients, including the flour, together with the leaven to make a smooth dough. Cover and leave to rest until doubled in size. Wash the plums, cut them lengthwise halfway through and remove the stone. Then cut the plums crosswise halfway through as well. On a floured surface, roll out the dough until it is the size of your baking sheet and lay it out on the greased sheet. Arrange the plums closely together on top of the dough with the skin side facing down. Leave to rest again in a warm place until doubled in size. Meanwhile, quickly knead the flour, butter and granulated sugar together to make the streusel topping and crumble it over the plums.
Sprinkle with cinnamon and bake in the preheated oven for approx. 35–40 minutes. Before serving, sprinkle with icing sugar.
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Sweets in the round: noodles and dumplings It is no coincidence that when people talk about Austrian sweets, “ Nudeln” (noodles) and “Knödel” (dumplings) are nearly always mentioned in the same breath: the English word “noodle” comes from the German word “ Nudel”, which in turn is merely a derivation of the word “Knödel”. These “ Nudeln”, however, which are made of potato dough, have little to do with Italian pasta. With regard to the preparation of the sweet dumplings there are differing opinions: it is almost a question of faith whether the best apricot dumplings are made with potato or quark dough.
Difficulty level:
Preparation time: 40 minutes NN Quark Dumplings with Stewed Plums Topfenknödel mit Zwetschkenröster For about 12 dumplings Dough 50g butter, at room temperature 30g sugar 2 eggs Pinch of salt 500g quark, puréed 100g semolina 1 tablespoon dry breadcrumbs Breadcrumbs 6 tablespoons dry breadcrumbs Butter Icing sugar, for sprinkling
Beat the butter together with the sugar, eggs and salt until light and fluffy, then stir in the quark, semolina and breadcumbs. Leave to rest for 1 hour. Form small dumplings from the dough and place in salted boiling water. Remove the pot from the heat and leave the dumplings to simmer until they rise to the surface, about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, melt a bit of butter in a pan and sauté the breadcrumbs until golden brown. Roll the dumplings in the buttered breadcrumbs, immediately arrange on plates and sprinkle with icing sugar.
3 Tip
You can bring more variety to this dish by rolling the dumplings not in breadcrumbs but in ground hazelnuts or poppy seeds. Let your imagination run wild! 43
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Stewed Plums ZwetschkenrĂśster
For 6 to 8 servings 1kg plums 125ml water 1 cinnamon stick 200g granulated sugar 1 untreated lemon, halved
Wash, halve and stone the plums. Boil the cinnamon stick together with the sugar and halved lemon in 125ml water until the sugar bubbles on the surface become thick. Then remove the cinnamon stick and lemon and add the plums. Cover and steam until tender, stirring occasionally. Keep covered and let cool.
In many of Austria’s rural areas, stewed elderberries or apricots are often served instead of stewed plums. The recipe is the same; simply change the main ingredient. 45
Difficulty level:
Preparation time: 50 minutes NN Apricot Dumplings MarillenknĂśdel
For 16 dumplings Dough 500g floury potatoes, cooked (preferably the day before) 140g flour 35g butter Salt 1 egg Filling 16 small apricots, stoned 16 sugar cubes Breadcrumbs Butter 70g dry breadcrumbs Cinnamon (optional) Grated almonds (optional) Icing sugar, for garnishing
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Peel the cooked potatoes and mash until smooth. Knead together with the flour, butter, a pinch of salt and the egg to make a smooth dough. On a floured work surface, roll out the potato dough to a thickness of about 5mm and cut into 16 uniform squares. Place a sugar cube in each apricot where the stone was. Now wrap each dough slice completely around an apricot and shape into dumplings. Place in lightly salted, boiling water. Cook, uncovered, at a low simmer for 8–10 minutes. Then remove and drain. In the meantime, melt a bit of butter in a pan, add breadcrumbs and sautÊ until golden brown, adding cinnamon and grated almonds if desired. Roll the dumplings in the buttered breadcrumbs, sprinkle with icing sugar, and serve warm.
Difficulty level:
Preparation time: 25 minutes N Styrian Funnel Cakes Steirische Strauben For 6 servings 400g flour 4 eggs 400ml milk Salt Oil or lard, for frying Icing sugar, for dusting Cranberry jam or stewed plums, for garnishing
Mix all ingredients together to make a rather firm batter, stirring until the batter pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Leave to rest for about 15 minutes. Press the batter through a piping bag or funnel into the hot fat in a spiral form. You can make the “Strauben” as large or small as you like. When they have been fried to a golden brown on both sides, remove them from the pan and drain well on kitchen paper. Serve while still warm garnished with cranberry jam or stewed plums.
It is widely known that Austria is not only a land of splendid sweets and pastries but also of delectable wines. So it is no wonder that a popular variation on these funnel cakes is called “Weinstrauben”: simply replace the milk with a dry white wine of your choice! 68
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The classics of coffee house tradition: tortes, cakes and biscuits In a land that is regarded as one of the world’s quintessential coffee-drinking nations, and a country in which one still can spend entire days in coffee houses reading newspapers, delicacies such as tortes, cakes and biscuits are naturally seen as indispensable. These tempting sweets range from the light and fluffy gugelhupf to the airy “Biskuitrolle” and the grandes dames among the tortes, such as Sacher Torte and “Esterházy Torte”, which require a certain degree of skill to produce.
The important place that torte recipes have in Austrian culture is illustrated by the “Sacher Torte battle” between Hotel Sacher and the Royal and Imperial Demel pastry shop, a dispute that began in the late 1930s and kept the world of confectionary in suspense for a matter of decades. Eduard Sacher created his masterpiece while still working at Demel’s. In addition to the issue of who was entitled to sell the torte, there was also an intense legal war over the use of the name, the second layer of jam in the middle and the use of margarine instead of butter. Only in the 1960s did both parties agree on an out of court settlement. Since then the Hotel Sacher sells the “Original Sacher Torte”, while at Demel’s one can dig into a “Demel’s Sacher Torte”.
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Difficulty level:
NNN Sacher torte
Preparation time: 70 minutes
Sachertorte
For 1 torte, 23cm in diameter
Preheat the oven to 180ËšC. Melt couverture or semisweet chocolate in a double boiler. Batter Separate the eggs. Beat the but140g couverture or ter together with the melted semisweet chocolate, chocolate and 90g of the icing chopped sugar until creamy, adding the 7 eggs 7 egg yolks one at a time. Beat 140g butter the egg whites until stiff, add 140g icing sugar the remaining 50g of icing 140g plain flour sugar and beat again until 200g apricot jam stiff. Stir one-third of the egg whites into the butter mixture, Chocolate glaze: see p. 76 blend well, then mix in the rest, adding the flour as well. Pour the batter into a buttered torte ring or springform pan and bake in the preheated oven for about 60 minutes. After about 50 minutes increase the temperature to 200ËšC. Place the finished torte upside-down on a rack to cool. After it has cooled, loosen the torte from the ring or pan with a small knife and place upside-down on a plate. Divide the cake horizontally into two halves (with a long cake knife or using a string), brush the bottom layer with the apricot jam, and replace the top layer.
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Chocolate glaze 200g granulated sugar 125ml water 150g couverture or semisweet chocolate, chopped Whipped cream, for serving
Bring the sugar and water to the boil and cook for 5 or 6 minutes. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler and gradually stir in the sugar water until you have a smooth glaze. Let cool only slightly; the glaze must remain warm. Then pour the entire glaze over the torte and spread it smoothly around the top and sides with a palette knife. Let cool, then cut into individual portions with a knife that has been dipped in warm water. Serve with whipped cream.
3 Tip
The glaze sets up fast, so there is little time for correcting imperfections. It is important to pour enough glaze over the torte at the very beginning!
The cake invented in 1832 by Franz Sacher is undoubtedly the world’s most famous torte. While the original recipe is a well-kept secret, you and your guests will certainly be very pleased with this version of the Sacher Torte. 76